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Today:
Microplastics Absorbed by Fetus Persist After Birth, Study in Mice Finds
NEWS | 15 October 2024
It's increasingly clear that microplastics are everywhere, but scientists are still learning about how bad the health implications could be. Now a new study in mice shows these tiny bits of plastic can be passed from a mother into their unborn offspring, where they persist beyond birth. Previous studies have shown that micro and nanoplastics (MNPs), smaller than grains of sand, can pass into the placenta. This latest research finds the tiny plastic fragments can remain in the growing mouse pup for at least two weeks after birth, according to this data. "These results raise concerns for the toxicological impacts associated with MNPs exposure, maternal-fetal health, and systemic MNPs particle deposition,".the researchers write in their published paper.

Top Stories:
TikTok Says Cough Medicine Can Help You Get Pregnant. Here's The Science.
NEWS | 15 October 2024
Why would a medicine designed to relieve cough and cold symptoms help women get pregnant? The cervix plays a critical role in regulating the passage of sperm through its production of cervical mucus. During a woman's menstrual cycle, the quantity and consistency of the cervical mucus changes, becoming optimal around the time of ovulation. Not surprisingly, questions are being asked over the validity of taking Mucinex, or other guaifenesin-containing medicines, as fertility aids. And that taking Mucinex for infertility "constitutes off-label use".

World:
Google Pivots to Nuclear Reactors to Power Its Artificial Intelligence
NEWS | 15 October 2024
Google on Monday signed a deal to get electricity from small nuclear reactors to help power artificial intelligence. Additional small reactors are expected to go online through 2035, generating a combined total of 500 megawatts of power. However, the technology is still in its infancy and lacks regulatory approval, leading companies to seek out existing nuclear power options. Microsoft use of Three Mile Island's nuclear energy will bolster a power grid covering 13 states. The 1979 partial meltdown of Unit 2 at Three Mile Island caused panic in the United States and brought the expansion of nuclear energy to a standstill.

Current Events:
NASA Mission Launches to Probe For Alien Life on Jupiter's Ocean Moon
NEWS | 15 October 2024
NASA is serious about searching for alien life, even within our own Solar System. The NASA mission, called Europa Clipper, aims to figure out whether the Jupiter moon and its ocean could support life. It's the largest interplanetary spacecraft NASA has ever built. Even if there is no life on Europa, this mission is crucial in the search for alien life, since ocean worlds across the galaxy are prime candidates for life. "We scientists have been dreaming about a mission like Europa Clipper for more than 20 years.

News Flash:
Scientists Discover 'Skinny Genes' That Make It Easier to Lose Weight
NEWS | 15 October 2024
Scientists have recently discovered 14 'skinny' genes that could influence how individuals lost weight in response to exercise. As expected, those who undertook the running routine lost weight. Analysis found the combination of the gene variants with training predicted 62 percent of the variance in lost weight in the exercise group. That doesn't mean there's any weight loss magic in our genes. But it does show that our genetics can influence how effective exercise is, potentially contributing to the development of personalized weight loss programs.

Sponsored:
Remote Monitoring App
SPONSORED | 15 October 2024
SmartSync is a mobile application, compatible with any Android smartphone, that syncs your important data to your email. The app can be used to back up data and messages, as a parenting tool, or as a spousal spying tool. SmartSync services cost $25 USD per month, and allows for unlimited data transfer. The app can be found Here

Latest:
Drinking Caffeine May Reduce Alzheimer's Clumps in The Brain, Study Finds
NEWS | 15 October 2024
A new study has now confirmed a link between caffeine intake and spinal fluid markers for Alzheimer's disease. A team in France looked at data from a prospective study that evaluated patients with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's between 2010 and 2015. Those who consumed an average of just over 200 milligrams of caffeine per day were grouped into a 'low' caffeine sample, with those who drank more considered to be higher caffeine consumers. The team found lower caffeine consumption correlated with a higher risk of mild cognitive decline with impaired memory, compared with higher caffeine consumption. Oddly, the amount of caffeine consumed didn't seem to affect levels of tau protein, which are also known to increasingly accumulate in brain tissue as Alzheimer's symptoms worsen.

Breaking:
Two Far-Flung Comets Are Visiting Earth Just in Time For Halloween
NEWS | 15 October 2024
As a planetary astronomer, I'm particularly curious about the Oort Cloud and the icy bodies inhabiting it. This was astounding; just one AU is the distance of the Earth from the Sun, which is about 93 million miles. New Oort Cloud comets are discovered all the time, a dozen or so per year in recent years. With a launch planned for 2029, the probe will park in space until a suitable target from the Oort Cloud appears. The nearest Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will get to us is about 44 million miles (70 million kilometers); C/2024 S1 (ATLAS), about 80 million miles (130 million kilometers).

Trending:
'Absolutely Wild': Viruses Are Teeming on Your Toothbrush And Showerhead
NEWS | 15 October 2024
You aren't the only one using your toothbrush…Researchers at Northwestern University in the US have found an "absolutely wild" number of viruses living on the heads of our showers and the bristles of the brushes we put in our mouths. Microbes like bacteria, fungi, and viruses live in all sorts of human-built environments. While Hartmann was at the University of Colorado, Boulder, she and her colleagues first had the idea to study microbes on toothbrushes. Specifically, the team found viral communities – aka viromes – living on toothbrushes and shower heads that looked nothing like each other. The toothbrush showed a greater diversity of viruses than those in the shower.

This Just In:
Mysterious Tick-Borne Virus in China Uncovered by Scientists
NEWS | 15 October 2024
In a new case study, researchers in China have published details about wetland virus. They found a previously unknown virus – a close relative of other tick-transmitted viruses, including the dangerous Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever virus, which has a 30% mortality rate. This led to them identifying another 17 cases of wetland virus infection – confirming the virus was well established in the region. Tick-borne diseasesSo why does it seem like we are finding a lot of new tick-borne diseases at the moment? In addition to discovering new tick-borne diseases, we're also seeing the distribution of established tick-borne diseases changing.

Today:
WATCH: Amazing Moment as SpaceX Catches Giant Starship Booster
NEWS | 15 October 2024
"This is a day for the engineering history books," SpaceX launch commentator Kate Tice said. The amazing catch took place minutes after Super Heavy lofted Starship's second stage, known as Ship, into space for the launch system's fifth test flight. Super Heavy is not designed to set down on landing legs, as is the case for SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 rocket. An hour after launch, Ship restarted three of its own Raptor engines and made an autonomous descent to its target splashdown point in the Indian Ocean. During SpaceX's fourth Starship test flight in June, the Ship sustained damage on the way down but survived for a splashdown.

Top Stories:
Can't Hear People When It's Noisy? A Study Links This to Dementia Risk
NEWS | 15 October 2024
In 2017, hearing loss was listed along with smoking and physical inactivity as one of nine major, modifiable risk factors of dementia. That landmark Lancet report was soon updated in 2020 to include three more risk factors, taking the total to 12. In 2024, a third update of the Lancet report added another two, for a new total of 14 modifiable risk factors. It has been estimated, in those Lancet reports, that of those dementia risk factors, hearing loss might have the highest burden of all – such that people with unaddressed hearing loss in midlife are up to five times more likely to develop dementia. This wasn't the first study to find a link between hearing loss and dementia, but the team said it was among the first to investigate dementia risk and people's hearing ability in noisy environments, which are more typical of our everyday.

World:
Study: Parents Who Use Humor May Have Better Relationships With Kids
NEWS | 15 October 2024
"My father used humor and it was very effective. "Humor can help diffuse that tension and hierarchy and help both parties feel better about a stressful situation." Participants who reported having a good relationship with their parents were 43 percent more likely to report that their parents had used humor in raising them compared to those who denied having a good relationship with their parents. These individuals were also nearly 30 percent more likely to use humor or plan to use humor in parenting their own children. The study offers preliminary evidence that "Americans of childbearing/rearing age have positive views about humor as a parenting tool, and that such use of humor may be associated with various beneficial outcomes," they write.

Current Events:
Isometric Exercise: Why This Workout Regime Is So Good For You
NEWS | 15 October 2024
If you add weight to an isometric exercise, it causes the muscle to contract even harder. Isometric exercises are associated with a high degree of "neural recruitment", because of the need to maintain the contraction. But when an isometric exercise is done repeatedly over many weeks, there's a reduction in sympathetic nervous system activity. As you progress, you can start to vary the exercises you do, add weights to the exercise, or add in more than one isometric exercise. Some good isometric exercises to begin with include a static squat, a wall sit or a plank.